Los Angeles power metal trio NINTH CIRCLE have been locked away in a studio for the last month writing the last few songs for their follow up record to 2008’s The Power of One. The band is looking to record 10 - 11 songs for the next CD and is on schedule to hit that mark.

Ninth Circle began their writing sessions in the winter of 2011 before heading out on tour during late winter through the spring and was coupled with a mid-summer tour after drummer Dave Davis' return from back surgery. The band immediately resumed writing sessions after the summer tour. In the midst of the 2011 spring tour, Davis had back surgery which required time for Dave to heal which took some time away from the band writing together. However, Dennis and Frank kept the dates scheduled for writing to ensure when Dave returned the band could pick up where they left off. And they did, in a big way!

“It was quite a blow to know that Dave was seriously injured to the point it would require back surgery”, expresses bassist Frank Forray. “Dennis and I did what we could do to keep on track. We had some brilliant new songs that we began writing as a complete unit and didn’t want to lose that momentum. Once Dave was given the OK by his doctor to travel we all got together at my place and began to write as a band again. A really nice element to the band is Dave is quite an accomplished musician. He’s a got a great ear for arrangement and melody and plays guitar very well. I believe you will most definitely hear what Dave brings to the band in terms of arrangement and melody on the next record!”

Dennis adds, "Song and arrangement ideas have just been so natural for this recording. Since we have hammered out a lot of these song ideas together, most often a song is ready to perform live after a handful of takes. It will be a real treat to get all of these ideas down to a recording. Just think The Power Of One Mach II. With Dave's musical background, I have been getting help with the harmonies this time around. With that musical dynamic, it has made everything much easier, and exiting!"

Frank continues, “The entire band is growing as musicians and songwriters. I can tell you for a fact that my skills have improved dramatically as a songwriter as well as Dennis'. The new songs are much more dynamic and we really pushed what we could do in terms of timing, melody and arrangement. There’s a lot of creativity in the band right now and space to explore options that didn’t exist previously”.

Ninth Circle has been playing new songs live on tour during 2011 and Frank gives some insight to these new songs:

“There’s no doubt what we wanted to accomplish early in the year; write and road test some new songs in a live setting. And we did that… and life events also happened! We worked up a new song called 'Arcturus Rising', a great heavy up-tempo song that we used to open a few shows. Another song is 'After The Rain'. We began writing this song before Dave’s injury. Upon his return it was the first song we through back in the set for the summer tour. Dennis referenced this song as the ‘new Power Of One’. It’s a great heavy and melodic song with a really dynamic intro.A few new songs that we have recently been working on are Legions of the Brave and Going Home. Legions of the Brave is a great example of dynamic arrangements that explores new territory for the band and takes the listener for tremendous ride. The song’s lyrical theme is based on Dennis’ uncle experience as a fighter pilot in the South Pacific Theater of WW II. There’s no greater story teller than history. In addition, this song is anything than predictable! 'Going Home', by contrast, gives fans a chance to breathe a little and drink in the truly melodic side of Ninth Circle at slower tempo. There’s no doubt we are fans of the great melodic power ballads from bands like SCORPIONS, DOKKEN, and early DEF LEPPARD and those bands are woven in the fabric of what makes up Ninth Circle. It’s fun to play at ripping-roaring speeds, but there’s also a level of precision that’s required when you’re trying to convey an emotion. Going Home does just that and it tells a great story about being on the road.”

Ninth Circle is looking to wrap up writing sessions in the coming weeks and to begin pre-production before entering the studio later this year.